OMG Oh My Gods
by Mingo-la
Summary: SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT EVEN READ THIS SUMMARY UNLESS YOU HAVE READ TLO! What happens when Percy decides to be made into a god? What will happen to Percabeth? I know this summary probably sucks, but please read it! *puppy dog eyes*
1. Should I Become a God?

**A/N: Yay! This is my very first fanfic! *does super-happy dance***

**Spoilers: TLO (The Last Olympian)**

**Time setting: towards the end of TLO.**

**Rating: K+**

**Genre: Adventure/Romance**

**Summary: SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT EVEN READ THIS SUMMARY UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE LAST OLYMPIAN. What happens when Percy decides to become a god? What will happen to Percabeth? Read to find out! (I know, this summary probably sucks. Whatever, just read it, please! *puppy dog eyes*)**

**Disclaimer: I *points to myself* don't own *shakes head* PJO *holds up all five books*. Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, I copied the italicized stuff at the begining straight out of the book.**

**OMG (Oh My **_**Gods**_**)**

Chapter 1

"_The Council agrees," _Zeus_ said. "Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the gods."_

_I hesitated. "Any gift?"_

_Zeus nodded grimly. "I know what you will ask. The greatest gift of all. Yes, if you want it, it shall be yours. The gods have not bestowed this gift on a mortal hero for many centuries, but, Perseus Jackson —if you wish it—you shall be made a god. Immortal. Undying. You shall serve as your father's lieutenant for all time."_

_I stared at him, stunned. "Um . . . a god?"_

_Zeus rolled his eyes. "A dimwitted god, apparently. But yes. With the consensus of the entire Council, I can make you immortal. Then I will have to put up with you forever."_

_"Hmm," Ares mused. "That means I can smash him into a pulp as often as I want, and he'll just keep coming back for more. I like this idea."_

_"I approve as well," Athena said, although she was looking at Annabeth._

"I'm not sure . . ." I said, uncertain of which would be the best choice.

"Percy." I turned around, and it was Poseidon who spoke "We can work side by side, father and son, for all eternity. What could be better than that?" I looked into his brilliant green eyes, and they showed the worry that the rest of his face tried to hide. It was almost as if he were telling me, _Please, Percy. Please say yes. I don't want to lose you. _

I looked over to Annabeth. Her face was pale, and her stormy grey eyes showed the same worry. _She _seemed to be thinking, _Please, Seaweed Brain. Please say no. I don't want to lose you._

I shook it off. There was no way they could actually be thinking that. I had to be imagining things. I must be.

Or was I?

Still, even if I wasn't, there was so much I would miss about being mortal. Change, for one. It would be boring to stay the same for all eternity. Or maybe it wouldn't . . . I stopped my thought in its tracks, moving on to the next reason. There were so many other things I would miss. Tyson, Grover, my mom, all the other people I would leave behind, and . . . I shuddered, forcing myself not to think her name. I looked over to Aphrodite. As mad as I was at her, she was the one who would be the most sympathetic with my reasons.

"I need to think it over," I said, my voice cracking. "I need to talk to—" I hesitated, already embarrassed over the two names I was about to say, "Annabeth and Aphrodite."

I looked at all of their faces. Annabeth looked relieved. Aphrodite looked overjoyed, although she was applying about a ton of makeup at the same time. Athena looked murderous. Poseidon looked confused, and, as always, Dionysus looked like he couldn't care less.

"Very well," said Zeus.

Annabeth and Aphrodite both stood up. I shook my head. "Separately," I said. "Annabeth first." Athena gave me a look that could've probably killed me and I wouldn't have been surprised.

Annabeth nodded and followed me into the hall.

"What are you waiting for, Seaweed Brain?" she asked when we got there. "Go ahead and let them make you a god." Her face was pale again, but she spoke with fake confidence, trying not to show her worry. I'd never seen her like this before, and it scared me slightly.

"Annabeth, I don't want to leave you."

She hopeful, but she seemed to try to suppress it and went back to her "confident" look. "I still think you should become a god. You have a lot to teach them. Please, Percy, promise me one thing."

"Anything."

She struggled to keep her face looking professional. "Make sure they claim all of their children, and have them acknowledge all of the minor gods and their children. Have cabins built for all of the minor gods. And Hades."

"Of course."

She looked at me for a second, and, just as she did on Mount St. Helens, she kissed me. "Goodbye, Seaweed Brain," she said.

"I will find some way to make you a goddess," I told her, blushing like a tomato. "I promise."

She shook her head, trying to blink back her tears. "I don't think that's possible, Percy," she said. "The gods aren't going to make someone a god or goddess just because you want them to." Dang it, even when she's upset she can still manage to be a know-it-all. And still manage to be correct.

"Maybe," I said, "but I just have this feeling . . . Annabeth, I- I- I love you. Hopefully, I'll have love on my side."

A look of shock crossed her face for a second. Then she smiled faintly and said again, "Goodbye for now, Seaweed Brain."

As I started to leave, she said "Percy?"

"What?"

"I . . . I l-l-love you, too." She seemed to be struggling for words. Not at all like her, yet somehow, it made perfect sense that it would be hard for her to say that to me. It was probably harder for her than it was for me. Classic Annabeth. Then she punched me on the arm before we went back to the throne room. Even with my invulnerability, I could tell that the punch wasn't as hard as it usually was. She must have been very distracted.

"Aphrodite?" I called as I entered the room.

"Coming," she said in a singsong voice, still fussing over her makeup. As we entered the hall, she said, looking absolutely delighted, "didn't I tell you I was going to make your relationship difficult?"

I struggled with words. "Ummmmm, yeah, about that—"

"And, of course, you now have a difficult decision to make, courtesy of _moi,_ which will severely affect your love life!"

"Yes, I know, but—"

"Oh, Percy, isn't love wonderful?"

"**APHRODITE!**" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Good thing the walls were soundproof. I think.

Suddenly, Aphrodite looked angry, extremely angry. "Umm, I mean . . . yes, love is wonderful." She calmed down, so I continued, although it was difficult to talk to someone who was constantly applying makeup. "Well, Annabeth wants me to become a god, on one condition." I explained Annabeth's condition. She looked absolutely devastated, and then extremely angry. She obviously wanted me to pick the other option. Before she could turn me into a toad or something, I quickly said, "I also promised that I would find some way to make her a goddess. Do you know of any way?"

Aphrodite looked thoughtful, but she might have been contemplating the best way to fix her eye shadow. "And why are you asking me instead of, say, Athena?" She asked. "You know, 'Athena always has a plan'." She scrunched up her face like she smelled something bad and said it in a voice that gave me the distinct impression that she hated that saying.

"Because, Athena wouldn't be as sympathetic once she found out that I was doing it out of love. She'd be even less sympathetic once she found out it was out of love for _her own daughter_." I shuddered at the thought. Then I decided to suck up a bit. "Plus, you must be really powerful to be able to control everybody's love lives. You could probably come up with an idea in no time."

I didn't understand how what I said made sense, but, apparently, it worked. Her face brightened up a little. She probably hadn't heard that one before, and it obviously pleased her. "Really?"

"Of course. Love is a very powerful thing."

She was beaming now. "Well," she said, frowning as if she were thinking of whether or not to tell me, "I did think of one way, but it'll be very dangerous for the both of you."

"Well, then, can you tell me?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," she said, like I was some 5-year-old who had just done something wrong. "Not until you become a god."

"Why?"

"Because I will only let you do this out of your love for Annabeth, not as a free ticket to immortality."

"Good point."

"Now, I suppose you will need my help with your other promise to Annabeth. I suppose I can talk to the Council for you."

"Thanks." I probably should have left it at that, but my ADHD got the better of me. "Why are you doing all this for me and Annabeth?" I asked.

"Well, I always respect a mission done out of love. Also, you and Annabeth are such a cute couple. I simply adore a tragic love story, and I can't wait to make this story even more tragic! Now, let's talk to the Council."

As we walked into the throne room (well, I walked and she skipped), I thought, _Huh. Maybe even Aphrodite can be as smart as Athena, even if it's for a completely different reason._ But please, don't tell either of them.

**A/N: Soooooooo, how'd you like it? You know you want to review. Good review? Thanks! Constructive criticism? Sure, I'd like that! *sighs* Flame, if you must. I won't like it very much, but I understand that the reason many people flame is because they just want the story to get better. So I guess I'm okay with that.**

**Sorry if you think that my version of Percabeth is OOC. I know that Percabeth isn't a particularly lovey-dovey couple, so I tried not to make it seem that way. Sorry if I failed at keeping them in character. Oh, well.**

**Anyways, as an incentive to get people to leave reviews, I will respond to the first reviewer! :D I know, I know. It's a dream come true to have your review answered by none other than **_**moi**_**! *heavy sarcasm* I will copy and paste your review and answer it in the next chapter. The only reason I won't answer to your review is if it's inappropriate for a K+ story or if you ask me not to. EmiJStar, DO NOT REVIEW UNTIL SOMEONE ELSE HAS ALREADY REVIEWED! I PROMISE TO RESPOND TO YOUR REVIEW, TOO! :D Just in case you have **_**no**_** idea what I'm talking about, EmiJStar is my BFF. We actually know each other offline *gasp!* I know, shocker! :-P Anyways, I want to give everyone a chance, so I don't want her to be the first reviewer. It's not like **_**you**_** know me offline. At least, I think you don't. . . .**

**AND there's another incentive to get people to review! C^: I already have the next chapter written, and I will post it as soon as I see one review. That's right, ONE review. It's not that hard. So review! :D:D:D:D:D:D  
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	2. The Transformation

**A/N: Wow, thanks for the reviews! You guys are all awesome! Also, a lot of peolpe added my story to their favorites and/or put it on Story Alert! I thank you all from the bottom of my heart! I literally had a 5-minute dance party (with no music) during which I did some MAJOR dorky dancing! :D And now, as I promised, I must respond to my first reviewer (and EmiJStar)! :)**

**StarofCalamity (signed rewiew): Here's your one review courtesy of me xD lol**

**Me: Congratulations! You are my first reviewer! As a reward, you get . . . *drum roll* . . . an imaginary cookie!:D**

**EmiJStar (signed reveiw****): HEY! I AM THE 3d comment :)**

**LONG LIVE THE QUEENS! (INSIDE JOKE)**

**Me: Hey, EmiJStar! I'm so glad you're my friend! Lol, long live the queens! Hahahahahaha! :) :D**

…chapter 2…

When we arrived, the gods looked impatient. I watched as Aphrodite explained Annabeth's request. When she was finished, Zeus looked like he wanted to blow something up. Namely, me.

"We offer to make you immortal, and you want _more_?" he bellowed, and then he cursed in Ancient Greek.

"Actually, Percy has a point."

I looked to see who spoke. _Could it really be?_ I thought.

Yes, it was. Athena had finally admitted that I could be right, for once.

She continued. "The main reason Kronos was able to rise to power was because a lot of the minor gods and demigods felt underappreciated. If we started claiming all of our children and recognized the minor gods, then maybe it won't happen again. It would be wise to grant Percy's other wish, for it is not a wish for him, it's a wish for everyone." Everyone was nodding in agreement.

I also nodded. "Okay, so will you promise, _on the river Styx_, that you will claim your children by age 11 and send them to camp?" They all nodded. "Also, all the minor gods should have thrones on Olympus and cabins at camp. We need to recognize all of _their_ children, too. The same for Hades. He should be allowed at Olympus and have a cabin at camp, too. So will you promise?"

"Fine," said Zeus.

And they promised.

Once everybody who wasn't a god (or going to be) left, Poseidon said, "Come on, Percy. Let's make you immortal."

Poseidon led me into a strange room I had never seen before. It felt strange, magical almost. I could literally _feel _the power radiating from a colossal metal cylinder in the center of the room. As Zeus unscrewed the top, it got even stronger. It wasn't like when the gods show their true form. When they do that, I feel almost completely overwhelmed. This time, I felt stronger than ever.

Poseidon went up to the container first. "The sea," he said, spraying salt water in.

Aphrodite was next. "Love," she said, winking at me. She took the pink scarf Annabeth and I had found at the Thrill Ride o' Love—how the Hades did she get a hold of _that_?—and threw it in.

"The sun," said Apollo, dumping something hot and fiery (sun sparks?) into the concoction.

"The moon." Artemis sprinkled in what I guessed to be moon dust.

"Wisdom." Athena tossed in a book and an owl feather. She looked happy, so she probably didn't know what my plan was. Then again, even _I_ didn't know what my plan was. Aphrodite must have been blocking the gods from my mind.

"The harvest." Demeter flung some plants in.

"War." Ares hurled a celestial bronze knife in, and glared at me before leaving. "Punk," he muttered under his breath. Clarisse really takes after him.

"Wine." Dionysus poured some wine into the almost-full container.

"The Underworld." Hades added in what looked to be pure darkness.

"Messages." Hermes threw in an envelope.

"The forge." Hephaestus flung in a shield.

"The sky." Zeus zapped the whole thing with his master lightning bolt.

Finally, Hera stepped up. "Family," she said reaching for a huge button towards the bottom of the container. With her finger just inches away from the button, she said to me, "You _might_ want to cover your ears." I did, and she pushed the button.

There was an earsplitting grinding noise. If I weren't covering my ears, they probably would have exploded. There was also a strange smell in the air. It smelled like metal and electricity and, I don't know, _power_.

The grinding noise stopped, and Hera motioned that it was okay for me to uncover my ears. When I did, I said "Ummm, am I gonna have to drink that?" I thought of all the non-edible things inside there. Athena rolled her eyes. "My daughter is right," she said. "You _are _a Seaweed Brain." Poseidon glared at her.

Zeus looked extremely annoyed with me. "No," he said, speaking through his teeth, as if it were obvious. He looked like he was trying very hard not to zap me for being so stupid. "You are not going to drink it. You are going to bathe in it." Then he murmured something under his breath. It sounded a lot like the word "idiot".

I looked up at the giant container, wondering how to get in. Suddenly, a flight of stairs appeared, leading to the top. Ares smirked at my bewilderment.

I climbed the flight of stairs and jumped into the shimmering, golden pool of luminosity.

/

I was prepared for it to feel like bathing in the Styx, without concentrating on my vulnerable point. Instead, I felt refreshed and energized, and I could actually _breathe_. That last part wasn't unusual for me, but I had a feeling that _anybody_ would be able to breathe. I looked down at my hands, and they were glowing, just like the liquid surrounding me. I could feel the pressure building up underneath me until—BANG!—I shot out of the container like a bullet.

I was flying through the air and then landed painfully on the ground. A small part of my mind was thinking _Wait, I thought I wouldn't be able to feel pain! _but mostly, I was dumbstruck. I couldn't say a word. I was too busy getting over how the Hades I got hurt so badly.

As I looked around, all the gods were staring at me. They all had the exact same expression on their faces: shock and disbelief. Even Athena, and that terrified me. Quickly, I looked down at myself. I still was slightly hurt, but that was normal, even though I was invulnerable. Mostly I just looked—well, normal. At first, I couldn't understand what was so bad about that, but realization hit me as I looked up at the circle of flabbergasted faces surrounding me. The reason I still looked normal was because I _was_ normal. I could even feel my invulnerability fading away.

I waited for someone to speak. After a few minutes, Athena did. "Someone has messed with the process of making Percy a god," she said. "That person must be caught, or else both the gods and Percy will cease to exist in one week." Every single eye in the room was staring straight at me.

Poseidon spoke. "Percy, it looks like you will need to go on another quest."

I felt hopeful at first. I would get to see all my friends! But then my heart sank as, once again, everyone's life seemed to be in my hands. "I guess I'll need to see the Oracle," I said.

Everyone nodded. As I turned to leave, I couldn't help but think that, this time, things might not work out like they did a few hours ago. I had helped save the world, only to try to keep it out of the hands of the titans once again. And this time, we had practically no warning. I knew that, in one week, the universe was going to be ruled by either the gods or the titans. And it was going to be very hard to keep faith in myself, because, in one week, everything can change.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Me: Yay, don't you just love cliffhangers? :D

Percy: Are you $&%#*&%$# crazy?

Me: Sheesh, watch the language! This is rated K+, for Pete's sake! And yes, I _am_ crazy! b-:

Percy: Well, I don't like it at all. As the main character of the story, I demand that you tell us who wins!

Every single character except Percy: YEAH!

Me: Fine! But promise that you won't tell our readers who wins.

Every singe character: _**PROMISE!**_

Me: Okay, the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _s win.

Percy: Ya hear that, Kronos? The gods are gonna win. JUST LIKE LAST TIME!

Kronos: No, she said that the titans are going to beat your bratty "heroic" butts!

Good Guys: GODS!

Bad Guys: TITANS!

GGs: GODS!

BGs: TITANS!

Me: *leaves them arguing and goes to get some ice cream*


	3. The Quest

Chapter 3

When I got to the entrance of camp, there was a huge group of people around Rachael. Everyone was so silent; you could've heard an ant scuttle across the ground. "What's wrong?" I asked, thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong. Yet she seemed fine when I got a closer look at her.

Everyone jumped at the sound of my voice. Annabeth came over, got a good look at me, and started punching me repeatedly in the arm. Hard. "_Why_" –thud- "_didn't_" –thud- "_you_" –thud- "_become_" –thud- "_a god?_" –thud-. Then she stopped punching me, but continued talking. "Did you chicken out or something? Because I told you to become a god! Do you realize how hard it is for me to let you go if you keep coming back? How do you expect me to choose between what is right and what I-" She realized how loudly she was talking and how many people were listening. She looked embarrassed, but whispered very softly, "And what I want."

I was still rubbing my shoulder (it seemed like all my invulner-ability was gone) when I repeated, "What's wrong with Rachael?"

Annabeth looked furious. "_FORGET ABOUT RACHAEL! WHY DIDN'T YOU BECOME A GOD?_" she screamed, then punched me _again_, even harder this time.

"Owwww," I complained.

Her face softened a bit. "I thought you were invulnerable. YOU BETTER TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG, SEAWEED BRAIN, OR I'LL PERSONALLY THROW YOU INTO TARTARUS!"

I explained to her everything that happened, how the gods each added something to the container, how someone apparently messed with it, how I wasn't invulnerable anymore, and how the gods and I would die unless we caught the person that did it. Annabeth looked worried, but I asked, for the third time, "What's wrong with Rachael?"

She was obviously angry, but evidently she knew better than to hit me again. Instead, she said, "Nothing. She became the new Oracle." She said it like it was no big deal.

"WHAT?" I yelled, a little bit louder than I intended.

Annabeth had an annoyed look on her face, like an I-can't-believe-he's-such-a-Seaweed-Brain kind of look. "I know you heard me," she said.

"Well, uh, I guess I'll have to talk to her about the quest." She nodded.

"Excuse me, coming through," I said to the crowd of demigods surrounding Rachael. As soon as I said it, they all formed a walkway for me to pass by. I guess you kinda get the VIP treatment once you help save life as we know it.

Rachael was already smiling, but she beamed once she saw me. "Hi, Percy."

"Hey." There was a moment of awkward silence so I said, "So. You're the new Oracle."

"Yeah."

More awkward silence. "Well, um, how does this thing work now that the Oracle is alive? Do I just ask you a question?"

She frowned, thinking about it. "I guess so. I haven't told a prophecy yet, so I have no idea."

"Okay, so how is our quest going to be?"

Almost immediately, Rachael's face went blank and she started speaking in a voice that sounded like three people speaking at the same time.

_"Betrayal and deception_

_ Is in the air,_

_ So advance on your quest,_

_ But treat it with care._

_ Unlike tradition,_

_ A group of four will go_

_ Into the dangerous underground,_

_ Full of sorrow and woe._

_ You will meet a titan _

_ Deep beneath the surface,_

_ So as you descend into the Earth, _

_ Keep in mind your purpose._

_ Your journey will end _

_ With a good heart's last beat,_

_ Only to find the answer always-"_

Rachael snapped into consciousness mid-sentence. "Oh, Percy, I always loved you!" she cooed. Then she shook her head, saying, "Oh, I'm sorry! I have no idea what came over me." She briefly glanced at Annabeth, who looked furious, then back at me. She backed away, holding her hands up. Wise of her. "Seriously. I have no idea what came over me. And don't take this the wrong way, Percy, but I don't love you."

Annabeth's face looked slightly less murderous, and I said, "Sure. No problem."

Annabeth cleared her throat. When I looked at her, she said, "So. Apparently four of us will go into the center of the Earth, meet the Titan who lives there, and a good person will die, only for us to find out that the answer was always. . . well, I know it rhymes with beat." She paused, considering something. "I have no idea why the prophecy was stopped before it ended. Has that ever happened before?"

Chiron shook his head.

Trying to lighten the mood, I said, "So, it's pretty much just like every other quest." Annabeth glared at me.

"Well, Percy, looks like you will have to choose three companions to accompany you."

It was a no-brainer. "I choose Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson."

They all stepped forward, and Tyson said, "Yay, brother! We go on another quest and make more monsters go BOOM!" He looked so excited, I'd have hated to burst his bubble by reminding him that yet another good person was going to die. So instead I nodded and managed a fake-looking smile. Luckily, Tyson didn't notice. He was to busy hopping up and down excitedly, and I could've sworn that the ground shook slightly every time he landed.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson, please follow me to the Big House. We must discuss your quest privately." We followed him.

When we arrived, he spoke. "I presume that the easiest way to reach the center of the Earth would be through the Underworld. Hades has most likely returned by now, and I imagine he will help you, seeing as the alternative would be for him to fade and the Titans take over. Nobody has ever reached the center of the Earth, not even the gods. They have all found that there was some ancient enchantment blocking them from entering. However, Hades possesses a vehicle which, if used by the right person, will take you there."

We were all nodding, and Annabeth said, "It sounds pretty straightforward."

Grover looked uneasy. "Um, Annabeth? Don't you think that you might have just jinxed it?"

She had an exasperated look on her face (which seemed to be showing up frequently today) and said, "Grover, do you seriously believe in that mumbo jumbo?"

He sighed. "No, I guess not. I think I'm just nervous. You know how I hate underground places."

Tyson patted him gently on the back. "It's okay, goat boy. We survived Labyrinth. This will be easy as cake." Grover smiled at him.

"Okay, you might want to rest before your departure," Chiron told us. "You will leave with Argus at midnight. He will take you directly to the Underworld."

I tried to act calm as I headed to my cabin with Tyson, but I had a terrible feeling that maybe Grover was right about Annabeth jinxing the quest. If only I had known just _how_ difficult the quest was going to be.


	4. I Get Overruled by a Puppy

Chapter 4

When I got to my cabin, I had trouble going to sleep, as always. I was too busy worrying about the quest. My brain was in turmoil. There was a full-fledged war going on up there, and my thoughts were turning against each other. The _What if?_'s shot razor-sharp arrows at the _But maybe_'s, and the _But maybe_'s fought back with double-edged swords. The _Why?_'s were battling the _Because_'s, the _How about?_'s were struggling against the _No way, Jose!_'s, and an extremely unpleasant aura of chaos and pantomime rattled throughout my head. I spent hours wishing that sleep would finally overcome me, just so that I could escape reality for a few hours.

Once I got to sleep, however, it wasn't much better. I had _yet another_ nightmare. Only this time, I couldn't see anything. I could only hear a strange, high, squeaky voice that sounded like it was being disguised. The voice was extremely irritating, and it clawed at my eardrums like a demented, mutant raccoon.

"They have fallen for the trap. A quest is being sent. They leave at midnight."

A deep booming voice answered that shook the ground itself. "Excellent. Our plan is in motion. Oh, and make sure they get our little . . . gift."

"Of course," the squeaky voice answered.

Without warning, I was suddenly falling. Even though I knew it was a dream, my dream self was tensed up, waiting for me to hit the bottom. After a few seconds, though, I was still falling. I was waiting, and waiting, and waiting, until—BOOM—I landed in a lake after a few minutes. As I rose to the surface, I looked around. I still couldn't see anything. I waved my hands out in front of me, searching for the edge of the water. I finally found it and crawled out of the lake.

It got very uncomfortable after a while, not even being able to see my own hand right in front of my face. Red spots danced at the edge of my vision as my brain tried frantically to look for light. I could feel myself slowly starting to go insane. I went back to where the water was, trying to get back in the lake, but it had vanished. My eyes were darting around, looking for something, _anything_, but, of course, all they saw was darkness. I could feel myself going crazy, at a much faster rate this time, and it terrified me. I was just about to crack, to scream at the top of my lungs and rip my eyes out of their sockets, when I heard, "PERCY!"

I woke up, startled. Annabeth, Tyson, and Grover were standing around my bed.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "He finally awakens. If we hadn't checked your pulse, we would have thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain."

Grover tossed me a backpack, probably filled with supplies, and said, "Let's go Percy. Argus and Chiron are waiting for us."

They gave me a few minutes of privacy, so I quickly got dressed and went outside to meet Argus, Chiron, and everyone else.

When I got to where the truck was waiting (right at the edge of camp, near the entrance), they were all staring at what looked to be a 9-inch-tall pile of fur. As I got a closer look, though, I saw that it was a small, furry dog. It was very short, had a red bow on its head, and had white fur (except for the ears, which were brown). "What is _that_?" I asked.

Grover looked at me with a surprised look on his face. "It's a dog."

I shook my head. "No, that's not a dog. It's a cotton ball with legs. And a red bow on its head. I mean, what does it think it is? A Christmas present?"

Grover looked hurt. "It's a maltipoo."

"A multi-who?"

Annabeth sighed. "Oh, will you two just _give it up_? Percy, it's half poodle, half Maltese."

Grover sniffed. "I told you, it's _nine seventeenths_ poodle, _eight seventeenths_ Maltese!"

She huffed. "Fine. Nine seventeenths poodle, eight seventeenths Maltese. How do _you_ know, anyway?" She was obviously miffed that she was wrong about something, for a change.

He tapped his head. "Satyrs know these things. Let's go, shall we?" He walked away, obviously smug, but we had the last laugh when he tripped on a log and landed on his hands and knees. "Owwww," he complained.

The dog rushed to him. As sat up, his hands and knees were covered in dirt and blood. When the dog* started licking his wounds, my first thought was, _Gross!_ After a few seconds, though, I saw that the wounds were healing.

Grover looked amazed, but I said, "Big deal. I can do the same thing with water." I had no idea why I was being so unpleasant about the dog. I mean, I usually kind of like most animals. Maybe I was just cranky. I was still slightly shaken by my nightmare.

Grover was obviously offended again, but he tried to hide it. He didn't succeed. "Well, what if there is no water around? Or nectar or ambrosia?" he added, before I could say anything. "It's nice to have a backup plan. Can we keep him? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

Annabeth sighed. "Fine."

"Hey," I complained, "Don't _I_ get a say in this? _I'm_ the one leading the quest!"

"Nope," Grover said, popping his lips on the p. "Come on, Ramsey, let's kick some monster butt!" When the dog growled at Tyson, he quickly said, "No, Ramsey! Tyson's a good Cyclops. He's our _friend_. He's helping us on this quest."

Hearing this, the puppy licked Tyson's leg in apology and then curled up at his feet. "Puppy!" Tyson exclaimed.

Annabeth raised one eyebrow, amused. "Ramsey?"

Grover blushed. "I, uh, kinda named him just now."  
"Let me guess," I said, letting a bit of sarcasm enter my voice, "You know it's a boy because-"

"Satyrs know these things," Grover said, interrupting me.

"Well," Chiron said, "Off you go!"

We all piled in the strawberry truck (including Ramsey), and before we left, Grover shouted, "Oh, Chiron, thanks for the backpack." Before he closed the door, I saw a confused look on Chiron's face. Right before Camp Half-Blood was lost in the fog, I could have sworn I saw a different backpack at his hooves. During the whole time I knew him, Chiron never struck me as a forgetful person (well, centaur), but for once, I wasn't thinking about by nightmare. I had other things to worry about. For instance, whether or not we would come back alive. Yeah, hopefully you'd understand why I was slightly distracted right then.

As we turned yet another corner, my stomach got more and more twisted up in knots, and my subconscious mind was trying desperately to remind me about my nightmare.

*here's the link if you want to see a picture of the dog (no spaces): h t t p : / / w w w . d o g b r e e d i n f o . c o m / i m a g e s 1 6 / M a l t i p o o B u r r O a k s D o o d R a n c h 4 . J P G

**A/N: Sooooooooo, how'd ya like it? Hope you enjoyed yet another chapter of my newest story! Oh, and by the way, the dog in the picture (in the link above) is not mine. I don't even know it. I have no idea whether it's a boy or a girl. (Although, judging by the bow on its head, I think it's a girl.) However, unlike Percy right then, I LOVE dogs. As long as they're not vicious. In fact, I have one at home, and she's SOOO SWEET! :D I love her!**

**What's the key to making me happy, you ask? Well, it's simple. Just review! Reviews are part of the reason I'm on this site. I mean, seriously, what kind of writer doesn't want feedback on their stories? So review!**

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	5. My Life is Saved by the Mighty Maltipoo?

Chapter 5

I couldn't help but hope that we wouldn't have to fight any monsters on this quest. Just go to the center of the Earth, find the Titan who lives there, and escape before he kills us. Simple. Well, except for that teensy-weensy part of the prophecy that said that a good person would die. But that doesn't _really_ mean that a good person would die, right? I sighed. Oh, who was I kidding?

There was yet another thing that bothered me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I rummaged through my memories, and suddenly, I remembered. It was that look on Chiron's face when we were driving away. I think he would've remembered if he'd already given us a backpack full of supplies.

I went through all of my Camp Half-Blood memories, trying to remember if there was ever a time when Chiron had forgotten something. I couldn't remember any such occasion, but I came across something that made me even more uneasy. I didn't like how Rachael had stopped telling the prophecy before it was finished. Apparently, it had never happened before.

I unzipped the backpack. I wasn't sure I trusted the contents of it, but we'd been driving for three hours, and I was starving. I looked inside. Nothing. Everything inside seemed to have vanished the moment I unzipped the backpack.

My stomach was doing back flips now. "Guys, this backpack is empty."

Everyone stared at me. Even the eye on the back of Argus's neck was staring. I gasped in shock, having just remembered something. "I had a dream yesterday. Someone was speaking to their servant or something. I couldn't see a thing, but they told the servant to make sure we got their gift."

All of the eyes previously staring at me had shifted to the backpack in my lap. I could tell that nobody liked what they had just heard. The last time we got a backpack that wasn't from camp, Ares was trying to set me, Grover, and Annabeth up by making Hades think that _we_ stole the lightning bolt. I shuddered at the memory.

A loud screech interrupted my thoughts. I turned towards the noise, and a truck was coming towards us—quickly. "STOP THE CAR!" Annabeth shrieked.

Argus slammed his foot down on the brakes. We skidded across the intersection. The truck had changed directions, though, and was still coming at us at about seventy miles per hour. My ADHD was acting up, and my brain went into overdrive. I grabbed Tyson, Grover, and Annabeth (don't ask me how; to this day, I still don't remember), and tried to leap put of the open door. I'd gotten a sudden burst of strength, and I would have made it, but I was too slow. Right as the car came smashing into us, I lost my grip on them. I could feel someone's hand grab my shirt and yank me out of the car before the truck hit me.

We landed in the grass at the side of the road and were rolling down a gently sloping hill.

When we reached the bottom, we were fine. A little shaken, but not a scratch on us. We got up and dusted off our clothes, and Grover screamed, "RAMSEY! NOOOO!"

Hesitantly, Tyson patted Grover's shoulder again, holding back a sneeze. "I'm sorry, goat boy."

There was a faint barking sound, and Ramsey was running down the hill. "Ramsey!" Grover yelled. "You survived! Who's the good boy? Who's the good boy? That's right, you are!" Ramsey barked cheerfully and licked Grover's face as he came down to pet him.

"Well," Annabeth said, "How are we going to get to the Underworld?"

"I will fix car," said Tyson.

And with that, he ran to the street, picked up the car, and brought it down to the bottom of the hill.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Annabeth and Grover were looking for food, Tyson was finding supplies to fix the car, and Argus, Ramsey, and I were guarding the car. Well, what was left of it, anyways. The damage wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. There were a few dents here and there, and engine was missing some parts. Tyson said that he could find them easily. I wasn't sure how, but I didn't ask. I wasn't sure I _wanted_ to know.

I suddenly became aware of the sound of very heavy footsteps coming my way. They were too loud to be Tyson's, so I pulled out Riptide and braced myself. I waited for a few seconds, then, bursting out from behind the trees, was the Minotaur.

I was getting really tired of this guy. I was about to defeat him like I did the last few times, but something caught my eye. On the Minotaur's chest, there were bits and pieces of shaved fur here and there. At first, I thought it was just at random, but then I realized they formed words. It looked like EWN NAD IRPDEVOM MTEOSNR, but then I looked more closely. It said NEW AND IMPROVED MONSTER. Yikes.

The Minotaur paused, obviously enjoying my sudden anxiety. He had much longer arms now, so long that they would grab me if I came in close with my sword.

I quickly went behind him and tried to jump on his back, but he anticipated this move. He leaped up, so all I got was a face full of stinky fur. He whirled around and tried to grab me by the neck. I dodged him, but he grabbed Riptide instead. He was about to break it, but a rock hit his face. He dropped Riptide, and it rolled into a pond. I looked at the direction the rock had come from. Argus had thrown it.

The Minotaur kept trying to grab me by the neck, but I kept dodging his gigantic hands. I couldn't keep dodging him, I had to _do_ something.

There was a deafening barking sound. I turned, and it was Ramsey. Sort of. He'd transformed into an enormous hellhound, it looked like. He looked at me and growled. I tensed, waiting for him to spring.

Instead of lunging at me, he leaped to where the Minotaur was standing. With one swipe of Ramsey's paw, the Minotaur was reduced to dust.

All my irritation with Ramsey vanished like some sort of magic trick.

Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson came running to the base of the hill, gasping for breath. "We heard the noise," Annabeth gasped. "What happened?"

I told them. She sighed and said, "Well, our first monster came after us. Our quest just got slightly more difficult."

Grover was beaming. "I _told_ you we should take Ramsey!" He turned to the maltipoo, who was now in cute little dog form. "Who's awesome? You are!" Grover was petting Ramsey's head.

The little dog's tail was wagging like there was no tomorrow. He licked Grover's face again and again and again and again and again and . . .

Tyson cleared his throat. "I found missing pieces."

Grover straightened up. His face was covered in dog saliva. "And we found some food." He gestured to the bags Annabeth was holding, filled with beef jerky, canned foods, and a bunch of other stuff that didn't need a refrigerator. It looked like enough food to last us for weeks.

Annabeth saw me staring at the food and said, "Don't worry. I keep money in my pocket, just in case of an emergency. I paid them."

Tyson got the spare parts and started fixing the car.

**A/N: Yeah, I know, not my best chapter. I was in a hurry. I'll try to make the next chapter better.**


	6. Grover's Daddy Tries to Kill Us

Chapter 6

After a few minutes, Tyson had fixed the car. It looked perfect, except for the fact that it was in desperate need of a new paint job. We were back on the road again in no time.

This time, it only took us half an hour to find another monster. We were driving along, minding our own business, when a giant hand reached out and grabbed the car. We screamed as the hand lifted us up and dropped us down in the middle of a clearing. We were falling from about ten feet, and the car took a good size beating, not to mention _us_.

We were cut, bruised, and scraped in several areas, and many of our bones were broken. It felt like knives had stabbed me in several places, someone used me as a skateboard to ride down eight flights of stairs, and I had gotten scraped multiple times by a giant cheese grater. Everyone else looked like they had suffered slightly worse torture methods. Ramsey was the only one of us who looked fine, and he was desperately running around in the car like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to lick all of our injuries as quickly as possible.

Great, booming laughter shook the car. I looked up through the demolished roof, expecting to see a giant Cyclops or something, maybe one of Tyson's evil relatives.

Instead, I saw a giant satyr.

It was about thirty feet tall, and its face was filled with hate as it looked down at us. It scared me to death.

I looked over at Grover, and he was frozen with fear as he looked into the monster's eyes. "What _are_ you?" he asked, barely forcing the words through his throat.

The satyr smirked and let out another bellowing chuckle that shook the entire ground. Nervously, I squinted through the trees surrounding us, searching for the road. Nobody was screaming, "EARTHQUAKE!" so I figured that the Mist was manipulating the mortals' minds yet again.

The satyr finished laughing, and said, "I'm a satyr, _obviously_. I've been experimented on, and finally, after all these years, it has worked. I can now give humans their rightful punishment for ruining the planet and killing the great god Pan." With that, he picked up me, Argus, and Annabeth. Ramsey turned into that giant beast-thingy, but Tyson and Grover were too injured to move. When I tried to move my hand to my pocket to pull out Riptide, pain shot through my body. It seemed that almost every bone in my body was broken. I looked over to Annabeth and Argus, and they weren't having much better luck. It hurt to see the pained expression on Annabeth's face, but, sadly, there was nothing I could do.

The satyr laughed at the helpless expressions on everyone's faces. "I'm not only a genetically engineered satyr," he said. "Grover, I am your father." His deep, booming voice made him sound like Darth Vader, and I could almost hear him do that weird breathing thing.

I saw Grover's eyes widen as his brain processed this information. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted.

I would've laughed at the humor in all of this, but being dangled in the air by a giant satyr kind of kills all urges to laugh.

Ramsey started scratching at the satyr's feet, but this just made the satyr laugh _again_. "I'm not a monster, exactly," he chuckled. "I cannot be reduced to dust. And the experiments they did on me made me virtually invincible." He opened his mouth and started slowly bringing Annabeth to it, probably planning to eat her.

Apparently, Ramsey either understood him or realized that nothing was going to happen. Either way, he transformed into little dog form and started licking all of Grover's wounds. After few seconds, Grover was all healed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his reed pipes. I didn't think that he could help us with those, but he hurled them at the satyr's head. "You're not my father," he said. "You're a monster."

The satyr wasn't hurt when the pipes hit his face, but he was so surprised, he dropped us. Even more pain shot through my body when I hit the ground, but, miraculously, I managed not to scream. Immediately, Ramsey rushed to lick all of our wounds.

Before the satyr could pick us up again, Grover started playing the reed pipes. Bark started growing over the satyr's body. He only had enough time to yell, "Noooo!" before the bark grew over his mouth. Within seconds, he had turned into a giant redwood tree.

Ramsey had finished licking all our wounds, and I felt great. I looked over to Grover. He was looking at the ground, tears running down his cheeks. "He'd always wanted to be reincarnated into a redwood when he died," he mumbled. He looked up at us and said, "He wasn't the type of person to volunteer for those experiments. They were probably done against his will. They most likely brainwashed him, too."

I got up and patted his shoulder. "I'm sure they did. He would've been proud of you if . . . if he'd been himself."

He sniffled, wiped off his tears, and smiled up at me. "Thanks," he said.

"Well, how will we fix the car this time?" Annabeth asked.

Tyson got up, dusted off his jeans, and walked over to the wreckage. The roof was missing, the windows had shattered, and there were dents all over the car. He frowned, staring at it, deep in thought. His face brightened at he got an idea. I could almost see a light bulb go on above his head. Ding!

He reached over and ripped the rest of the roof off, turning the car into a smashed-up, windowless convertible. He crushed the pieces of metal together and started flattening them, forming a giant tray. Taking the tray in one hand, he ran into the forest.

About half a minute later, he came back with sheets of glass. Amazingly, they were all the perfect sizes for the windows, and he put them all in their correct place.

Finally, he put his hands on either side of each dent and shoved the metal back into place.

The whole time, the rest of us were watching him with astonished looks on our faces. "How did you get that glass?" I asked him.

Tyson looked pleased at our amazement. "I made it."

"How did you make it so quickly?"

He looked sad. "Old Cyclops secret. I'm sorry, brother; I'm not allowed to tell you."

"Hey, that's okay," I said cheerfully. "All that matters is that you fixed the car. Now, let's go. We have to get to the Underworld!"

Little did I know that I'd soon be wishing we had just gone back to camp while we still had the chance.


	7. Apparently, Vampires Don't Sparkle

Chapter 7

As we got closer and closer to DOA Recording Studios (AKA: The Underworld), I started thinking that maybe, just maybe we wouldn't have to fight any more monsters. I mean, we were already _so close_. I kept thinking that the only challenge left on our quest would be to go into the center of the Earth, find out which Titan messed with the process of making me a god, let the gods handle them, and have me and Annabeth be made immortal. As most of you probably know by now, wishes are very risky things for demigods to make.

The rest of the car trip took several days, but Argus didn't stop driving the whole time, except for bathroom breaks. He had the ability to rest some eyes while the others stayed alert, making him an excellent security guard.

We stepped out of the car (except Argus) when we reached the entrance to the Underworld, but it was blocked by a mysterious hooded figure.

"Wh-wh-who are you?" I asked, stuttering over my words.

The hooded figure chuckled. "Your worst nightmare."

Grover sighed, despite all of his fear. "Great. First we get Darth Vader, now we get evil Batman. Perfect," he muttered.

The figure lowered his hood, and my breath caught in my throat. His face was as white as a sheet, and one leg looked like a donkey's, another was bronze. And his eyes were bright red, wild with thirst.

"I'm Kiel," he said, "Kelli's brother."

We all exchanged looks. Nobody said anything, but it was clear to anyone what we were all thinking: _Uh, oh_.

Kiel cackled, then transformed into Luke. "Annabeth, sweetie, how about a kiss," he purred.

Annabeth was frozen. I could tell that she still hadn't gotten over Luke's death. She wasn't _in love_ with him, but she saw him as a brother, and his death was still very hard on her.

I was getting really angry at Kiel, playing with her emotions like that. "Luke was a hero," I said. "You don't deserve to morph into him."

Quick as lightning (and trust me, I've seen how fast _that_ could be), he grabbed Grover, Tyson, and Annabeth. "So," he said, "You're the one with the smart mouth? Well, it's time someone taught you respect."

I could tell that I needed to distract him soon; otherwise he would hurt one of my friends. Of course, I naturally opened my mouth and said one of my trademark stupid sayings. "So, are you team Edward or team Jacob?" I asked in my girly-est voice.

Kiel smirked. "Nice try, 'hero', you can't get me to monologue. But I am in desperate need of entertainment, so show me what you got."

I tried a bunch of Twilight references, but none of them worked. I could tell that he was starting to get bored with me, so I asked, desperately, "Is it true that you sparkle in the sun? Are you, like, a fairy?"

He roared with fury. "Uggggh, I _hate_ Stephanie Meyer! I mean, _come on_! Sparkle? We're supposed to be vicious! What kind of idiot creates a bunch of _good_ vampires?" He snapped back into reality. "Hey, wait a min-"

But I had already sliced Riptide through his neck, and he dissolved, leaving behind his head and a whole lot of dust. That was one stupid monster.

We entered the lobby. Charon recognized us immediately. "Oh, hello Percy, Annabeth, Grover." He frowned when he saw Tyson. "And what's that?"

I stepped forward. "_That_ is Tyson, my half brother."

Charon looked flustered. "Oh, yes, of course. I'm terribly sorry. You see, many of his kind are . . . unfriendly towards me, to say the least. It's just-"

I was about to say something, but Tyson stopped me. "It's okay, brother," he said.

Charon looked relieved. "Well, I'll inform Hades of your arrival."

Hades appeared, and several of the spirits in the lobby gasped. He ignored them. "I can hear you, Charon," he said. He turned to us. "You're here. Let's go." The lobby seemed to dissolve right in front of my eyes.

We appeared in the throne room, and Hades led us to a strange, car-sized machine. It had a giant drill at the front; it was made of _very_ shiny metal (it almost hurt to look at it, even in the dim light of the room); and it had _extremely_ large wheels (about 10 feet in diameter).

Hades pushed a button on a set of car keys, and the doors opened up and a ladder swung down from the entrance. There were 4 seats, something that looked like a GPS, and a huge trunk that could be accessed from the inside.

"The trunk is stocked with everything you will need for, say, a week," he said. "It should only take you about a day to reach the center of the Earth. There are also five emergency suits, which will block out the heat, in case the machine . . . malfunctions. The GPS will tell you how much farther you have to go.

"You will dig through the crust, and then you will reach the mantle, which is liquid. You will fall through the mantle and enter a pocket of air surrounding the inner core."

Annabeth interrupted him. "Wait, I thought the outer core was liquid."

Hades looked like he wanted to strangle her for interrupting him, but he didn't. Apparently, he realized that strangling one of the people who might be his chance of survival was not a good idea. "No, the inner core is made of air. Air that you can breathe."

Well, it wasn't the first time that science had been proven wrong.

Hades continued. "_As I was saying_, you will reach air that surrounds the inner core, and you will crash-land. The machine will absorb the impact of the landing. Once you reach the inner core, it is safe to get out. The temperature will be fine.

"In case the machine malfunctions, put on the emergency suits, step outside, and eat these. They will take you back to the underworld, and I will have someone fix the machine." He handed us four sphere-shaped items. Then, seeing Ramsey, he handed us another one. "Once you reach the inner core, look for the person who messed with the transformation. Once you find them, eat the pearls and return to the underworld. We will take care of them."

We all nodded our heads. "Okay, let's go," I said.

So we all went inside and turned on the machine, heading into the deep, dark unknown.

**A/N: So, I was reading the reviews, and ShadowPenguin2010 made a good point: ". . . ****why did Percy pick his friends if one of them is supposed to die?"**

**Answer: He's trying to increase the odds of them completing the quest. It's kind of like when Annabeth chose that same group to go into the Labyrinth, even though the prophecy said that she would "lose a loved one to worse than death." If they don't complete the quest,**_** none**_** of them will survive. Even though it's hard for Percy to send one of his friends off to their certain death, he has to look at the big picture. Plus, it would hurt Percy if **_**anyone**_** died. Although, I suppose it would hurt him more if one of _them_ died. Especially Annabeth. *wink, wink***


	8. Whoa! Major Deja Vu!

Chapter 8

**A/N: If you want to see a model of Earth's interior, go to this website (no spaces): **h t t p : / / w w w . p s r d . h a w a i i . e d u / W e b I m g / E a r t h _ i n t e r i o r . j p g

For the most part, our journey through the crust was peaceful. The machine was going about one mile per hour. That might seem very slow, but it was actually very fast. I mean, it had to dig tons of dirt, rock, and who knows what else out of the way. Annabeth was on GPS duty, Tyson was making sure the machine was working properly, and Grover and I had no jobs. Nobody had much to do, so we all were just staring aimlessly out the windows.

The view was amazing. We saw all types of crystals and stones, even some that humans hadn't discovered yet. Every so often we'd hit something hard, and we'd all jump at the collision. Ramsey was the only one who wouldn't be shaken; you could practically see him rolling his eyes.

The crust was apparently very thin where we'd started drilling: it was only five miles deep. Five miles seemed like a lot when Annabeth said it, but she told us that the crust was twenty five miles deep at it thickest. She told us that it should take about five hours to reach the mantle, then about twenty hours to fall through the mantle and outer core.

"How the Hades did you figure _that_ out?" I asked her.

She sighed. "Simple. If you let t equal the time, then the height at any given time equals negative sixteen t squared plus the initial height. Substitute zero for the height, and plug in three thousand two hundred miles for the initial height. Take into account that the mantle is liquid, and you get approximately twenty hours."

We all stared at her. "What?" She asked. "It's simple algebra. You just-" She sighed again. "Never mind," she mumbled. "You guys get some sleep. I'll wake you up when we're almost there."

The machine was very noisy, and it made it hard for any further communication. So instead, I closed my eyes. For once, I didn't have nightmares.

I woke to the sound of a gigantic crash, followed by a huge jerk. We had hit something. "Put on the emergency suits," Annabeth told us. "We need to inspect the damage."

We put the emergency suits on, even Ramsey. He looked funny, like a small blob that was lost in the middle of a bunch of fabric.

When we got outside, the damage didn't look that bad. The only problem was that parts of the engine were missing. "Uhhh . . . Tyson?" I asked. "Can you fix that?"

Tyson looked sad. "No, brother," he said. "I can't fix it. Sorry."

Suddenly, his face lit up as he got yet another idea. "But there _is_ something that can help us dig through the rest of the crust."

He went over to the machine. I could see him analyzing it, a look of intense thought on his face. He yanked off the giant drill. Then, searching through the remains of the engine, he pulled out a few parts.

He fiddled with the parts for a few seconds, then he assembled them right before my eyes, more quickly then I could ever have imagined. Within seconds he was holding a giant drill.

Annabeth looked impressed. "Wow, how fast does that go?"

In response, Tyson turned on the drill. A loud whirring sound emanated from it. It didn't look as fast as the drill on the original machine, but it was still pretty darn fast.

She raised her eyebrows in amazement. "Awesome! We are about eighty five percent of the way there, meaning that it would normally have taken approximately forty five minutes to get there. With this drill, it should take us about an hour."

I grinned. "Good job, Tyson!" I exclaimed.

He looked very pleased and blushed slightly. "It was nothing," he said. He dug a hole next to ours and buried the machine in it.

Then, turning the drill back on, he started digging.

After about and hour, Annabeth yelled, "Stop! We are right above the mantle! One more inch and we'll be falling." Her voice shook with fear.

I turned to look at her. "So what should we do?" I asked.

She looked confident now. "We keep going," she said. "These suits will absorb the impact of out fall once we hit the inner core."

Tyson nodded, and Grover picked up Ramsey.

The drill broke through the surface, and I braced myself for a twenty-hour-long fall.

It felt like the ground had been yanked out from underneath me. My stomach dropped at first, but I got used to falling after a few minutes.

We all fell asleep. No use just falling, being bored and wasting all that free time. Plus, I had a feeling that we would need that extra sleep later.

I woke up to Annabeth shaking me awake. "A few more minutes," she told us.

Suddenly, I remembered my dream from the day before we left camp. I grabbed everyone, certain that we were going to land in a lake.

A few minutes passed, and then we hit the surface of the water. The force of our impact should have turned us into pancakes except for two things: one, we were wearing our emergency suits; and two, Tyson and I were sons of Poseidon.

As I rose to the surface, I opened my eyes. I expected to be blind, like in my dream. Instead, I could see _everything_.

I gasped. We were in Ogygia.


	9. The Secret Finally Comes Out of Hiding

**A/N: Okay, sorry for the delay. Hey, that rhymed! Anyways, I've been really busy with homework. Sorry. **

**I'd like to send a shout out to PinkPrincess4Life. She's probably not even reading this, though. She hates reading. Apparently, it hurts her brain. The weird thing is, she's pretty smart. Anyways, she's one of my BFFs in real life. Luv ya, PinkPrincess4Life!**

**So, to make up for the delay, here's an extra-long chapter. Warning: it contains referances from the Demigod Files. Hopefully you guys won't be too confused. Don't be suprised if it takes me a long time to update after this chapter. I'm going to visit family for Christmas, and I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to spend working on this story.**

Chapter 9

I looked around, my thoughts in turmoil. _It can't be Ogygia . . . no hero ever finds it twice,_ I thought. It looked exactly like Ogygia, yet somehow, it felt . . . wrong. Different. Unfamiliar. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something _was_ strange about this place. It had a hostile feel to it, which was the exact opposite of how Ogygia felt: warm, friendly, and safe. But this feeling was only inside me; the place looked amazing.

As I looked around some more, I realized that this place definitely _wasn't_ Ogygia. I wasn't sure how I was able to tell; I just had this peculiar feeling that we weren't supposed to be here.

Grover looked petrified. "This place smells weird," he said.

Tyson nodded. "Smells like bad magic," he agreed.

I was still in shock. "This place looks exactly like . . ." I started muttering, but I stopped as soon as I realized what I was about to say.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything. I could tell that she knew exactly what I was talking about it, and it was obvious that she didn't like it.

I was about to say something to her, but I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

We quickly got into defense mode, ready to attack whatever came through the trees.

The footsteps paused, and then out burst Bob the Titan.

"PERCY!" he yelled, rushing towards me and wrapping me in a big hug.

"Iapetus?" I asked, very confused and in shock.

He frowned. "No, I'm your friend, Bob. Remember?"

At first I had no idea what he was talking about, but then a memory from last summer came back to me. I was finding it very difficult to form a response. "Oh, yeah, I remember. I was just messing with you," I managed.

He relaxed. "Oh. Okay."

I thought back to that day when I dunked Iapetus in the River Lethe. He came out not remembering a thing, and I'd convinced him that he was my friend, Bob. I'd had no idea that the River Lethe was _that_ powerful until I'd realized that he totally bought my lie.

"Hey, Percy," Bob said, snapping out of that memory. "Some weird, scary guy asked me to give you this. I don't what you can use it for, though. It just has a bunch of symbols on it that I don't understand." He handed me a sheet of paper.

We all looked at it. Luckily, it was written in Greek.

_Heroes,_

_Iapetus the Titan can't remember anything from his past, which is causing him to slowly fade. Because he's a Titan, remembering even one tiny part of his history could result in him remembering everything. Refrain from letting him remember any part of his former life at all costs. He has lost all of his Titan powers, and it is best to keep it that way; any memory of him being a Titan will bring those powers back. I have trapped him here so that he won't remember anything; the only reason you are allowed here is because I can't overrule the Fates' decision. Just make sure he doesn't remember anything, and he should fade peacefully._

_-Hades_

When we finished reading, Bob was staring at us expectantly. "So, what's it used for?" he asked us.

I hesitated. He must have forgotten how to read. "Ummmm . . . . Well, it doesn't matter."

He looked content with that answer. "Okay," he said.

Annabeth stepped forward. "So . . . you wouldn't know anything about someone who wants to kill Percy, would you?"

"No," he replied, puzzled. "Why?"

"Oh, uh . . . no reason. Hey, do you want to play a game?"

"Sure!" he exclaimed, utterly delighted. "How do you play?"

"Well . . . ." Annabeth said, thinking about it for a while. "So, here's how it goes. We all search the place, looking for a person. When one of us finds them, the game is over and the person who saw them first wins."

Bob smiled. "Okay. So, are we going to split up?"

"No!" she hurriedly said. "We're not splitting up! The game starts . . . now."

So we set off.

We searched for hours, but didn't find anything. We were all very tired; our faces were scratched, our muscles ached, and our feet had bunions on them the size of Alaska. Every time one of us groaned, Bob would reassure us, telling us how fun this game was. It was strange, seeing him _not_ want to kill us. He almost seemed . . . friendly.

Without any warning, Bob dropped to the ground. "I . . . can't . . . go on . . . any further," he gasped.

Annabeth gave us a look. _It's time,_ it said.

We all crowded around him. He looked bewildered and scared. "What's happening?"

Tyson came forward and put his hand on Bob's shoulder. "You will die. I'm sorry."

Bob's expression changed from one of fear and confusion to one of pure mortal terror. Well, immortal terror, I suppose. For a minute, he stayed terrified. Then he took a deep breath, and a look of acceptance crossed his face. "All right," he said. "I just have one wish."

"What is it?" we all asked.

He took another deep breath. "Tell me who I really am," he pleaded.

I paused. "You're my friend, Bob," I told him.

He shook his head. "I believed that before, but not now. Something is telling me that I'm not who you say I am. Please, tell me who I am. And please, don't lie."

I felt guilty for not telling him the truth. But if I told him who he really was, he might destroy us. So I said, "I'm very sorry, but I can't."

He cried, "Please. You have no idea what it's like! I keep having these brief flashes of very faint memories—like my subconscious mind is trying to tell me something. But I still haven't the slightest clue on who I am. I can't remember anything, anyone.

"Everything that was ever important to me is gone. Everything I have ever been passionate about, everything I've ever stood for, everything that has ever brought me joy or sorrow. Everyone I have ever loved everyone who has ever loved me— if there was ever even anything to love about me. Everything I have ever done, all of my accomplishments. All of my plans for the future, and all of my hopes and dreams. Everything. Gone. Lost in the wind."

He looked at us with sad, pleading eyes. "How would you feel if everything that you ever were, the very essence of your being, was lost? That's how I feel. Lost. I don't even have any hope whatsoever. How can I? I can't remember anything that had ever once given me the minutest shred of hope. It's gone, just like everything else. I can't remember if I'm even real, or if this is all just some crazy dream. Yet I fear it is not.

"Please, if you want me to ever finally be at rest, just tell me who I am. I have a feeling that my life before was very wretched. Please, just offer me this one consolation. Let me know who I am, so that I can make peace with myself after all that I have done. For I also fear that I have done many misdeeds." His face was contorted in pain and he shrieked, "_Please tell me!_"

I was surprised at the dramatic incline in his vocabulary. I guess he was starting to remember who he really was. And if that was happening, then I needed to do everything I could to make sure he didn't remember. No matter how terrible I felt about it. "I'm very sorry," I said, my voice cracking. "I can't tell you."

He screamed—a loud, high-pitched burst of despair that made my blood curl. His screaming turned into weeping. It took all of my willpower to keep silent as quiet, pitiful sobs were forcing themselves through his throat. He curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth while shaking like a wet puppy. It looked so . . . wrong to see him this way. Like seeing the emperor of the universe in nothing but PJs. He was a _Titan_, for Zeus's sake!

Annabeth elbowed me and whispered, "Tell him. Nothing can save him now."

Slowly, I opened my mouth. "You're Iapetus," I told him. "The Titan."

He looked up at me, barely keeping the sobs from making themselves heard. "Am I evil?" he asked me, shakily.

I hesitated. "Yes."

His face crumbled in agony. "I'm . . . evil? Did I kill anyone?"

I started to answer, but it became clear that he already knew the answer to that. His eyes opened wide as all of his memories slammed back into place. His face became demented, twisted with near insanity.

He moaned. "Oh, no! I remember now! H-h-h-h-how could I have done such awful things?" He suddenly looked disgusted as he looked at another one of his many memories. I watched his face slowly turn to horror as the very last memory finally crashed into place. He let out a wordless scream, yet it said a million things. It was one of pity, rage, sadness, remorse, pure disgust, and countless other things. It was a scream of someone being tortured from the inside, tortured so severely it drove him insane.

It was the scream of a madman.

We all stared at him as each and every one of his misdeeds came to slap him in the face. I wouldn't have thought it possible for his expression to be filled with even more agony and insanity than before, but it apparently was. With each slap, he looked more and more like a crazed maniac. Finally, the last slap was finished, and he started to turn into a cloud of vapor. "Tell the world . . . I'm sorry," he managed to say.

Then he completely dissolved.

I looked around at my friends. Tears were streaming down all of their cheeks. I could feel the pressure building up inside be until—boom—I cracked.

I started sobbing. "It's all my fault!" I cried.

Annabeth walked over to me and hugged me. "It's okay, Seaweed Brain," she told me reassuringly. "He was going to die anyway."

I sniffled. "Yeah, but if I'd listened to Hades, he would've died peacefully."

Annabeth shook her head. "He wouldn't have died peacefully either way. You did the right thing, Percy." It struck me as odd that we were saying _die_ instead of _fade_. I guess we all thought of him as a human. He almost was, anyways. His heart was beating before he faded . . . .

I gasped, pulling away from Annabeth's hug. "Guys, I think out quest is over!" Most of my sadness was chased away by the shock.

Tyson frowned. "But we didn't catch evil person."

"I know, but I think Bob was the good person that was going to . . . going to die," I finished quietly.

As soon as I finished saying that, we were back at the entrance Camp Half-Blood, inside the boundaries. It was midnight, and everyone was asleep. "I'm going to take that as a yes," I muttered.

Annabeth's face brightened as she got an idea. "Guys, remember the last line of the prophecy? Only to find the answer always-. Maybe it was _here_ the whole time!"

That didn't sound good to me. That would've meant that Bob died for nothing. But I put on a brave face and said, "Well, let's split up and search for the answer."

Grover nodded. "Okay. Annabeth, you go check the cabins. Tyson, you check the lake. Percy, you stay here and look for it. I'll check the training arena. When we're done checking those places, report back here and we'll assign each other different places."

Annabeth smiled, a look of approval on her face. "Sounds like a plan worthy on Athena."

They all went to check the areas they had been assigned to, leaving me here with Ramsey.

"So," I said, "where do you think we should check first?"

Ramsey barked, and he disappeared in a poof of dust, leaving behind a strange wooden object.

My heart racing, I realized that we were at the exact spot where Rachel told the prophecy. I thought back to that day. It had struck me as odd that she would end it too early to say that she loved me, when she really didn't. I went over the words in my head.

_Betrayal and deception_

_Is in the air,_

_So advance on your quest,_

_But treat it with care._

_Unlike tradition,_

_A group of four will go_

_Into the dangerous underground,_

_Full of sorrow and woe._

_You will meet a titan _

_Deep beneath the surface,_

_So as you descend into the Earth, _

_Keep in mind your purpose._

_Your journey will end _

_With a good heart's last beat,_

_Only to find the answer always-_

Bending down, I picked up the object. At first, it looked like a regular arrow, maybe something that the Apollo campers had left behind. I was about to toss it over my shoulder when something caught my eye. It was a red heart, right at the end of the arrow. A love arrow.

I gasped as the last puzzle piece came hurdling into place, and I heard the Oracle's voice in my head, finishing the prophecy.

_Always right at your feet._


	10. I Become Immortal    I Hope

Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey, guys, I have computer/internet access! Yay! Oh, and I'm sorry if I made it seem like the story was over. It's not. By the way, don't worry if you didn't get the "secret" that was revealed at the end of the previous chapter. You're not stupid. Anyways, here's the chapter!**

Still in shock, I ran to get the others. After I rounded them all up, I told them what happened. "It's Aphrodite," I told them. "She's the traitor."

I watched their faces as I told them this. They all looked stunned. "But . . . why?" Annabeth asked.

"She wanted to make our relationship . . . uhhh . . . more _interesting_." We both blushed as I said this.

Annabeth mumbled something unintelligible under her breath, probably cursing the love goddess. Warily, I looked up at the sky, hoping that Aphrodite wasn't paying attention.

Grover cleared his throat, the sound cutting through the awkwardness. "So how do we get to Olympus without Argus?"

As soon as he said this, the scene around us dissolved and reformed into the throne room of Olympus. I sighed. I was getting tired of these constant changes in our surroundings, like someone was playing games with us. With a jolt, I realized that that was exactly what was happening. Stupid love goddess.

All of the Olympian gods were in the throne room, in giant-god form, sitting on their thrones. Zeus saw us and glared down at me. "Why are you here?" he asked us.

Nervously, I stepped forward. "We discovered the traitor," I told him, my voice shaking slightly.

All of the anger left Zeus's face, but he was still wary. "Who is it?"

My stomach twisted in anticipation. What would his reaction be when he found out it was Aphrodite? Would he even believe us? "It's . . . well, it's Aphro . . . Aphrodite," I told him, choking over my words.

Zeus had a look on his face that appeared frequently whenever I was around, letting me know that he wanted to incinerate me on the spot. "HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE HER?" he boomed. "WE WILL ALL BE DESTROYED IF YOU DON'T FIND THE _REAL_ CRIMINAL!" His voice reverberated all throughout Olympus.

From her throne, Aphrodite cleared her throat. "Percy is correct," she said. "I messed with the immortality process."

Shock crossed everyone's faces. Even my friends looked surprised. Annabeth frowned. "So you're not making this up?" she asked me.

It was my turn to frown. "Why would I make this sort of thing up?"

"Well . . . I didn't think that you made it up. I just thought that you were mislead." She turned to Aphrodite. "I didn't know you were a schemer, Aphrodite." Despite the annoyance, it was hard to mistake the respect that was in both her face and her voice.

Aphrodite smirked. "There is much you don't know about me, child," she said gently.

It was fun to watch the spectrum of different emotions play out on Zeus's face. For once, it seemed like he had completely let his guard down. All of his emotions were right there, where everyone could see them. Each expression would cross his face for less than a second before being replaced with another one. First came shock, then anger, suspicion, disbelief, worry, acceptance, more anger, and finally fear. Yes, fear. The Lord of the Skies, god of thunder and lightning, king of the gods, supreme ruler of all, was afraid.

I could kind of sympathize with him. He trusted Aphrodite; she didn't seem like much of a threat. She even seemed to be on his side. Yet she risked all of the gods' existences for an interesting love story. If she was capable of that, who knew what the other gods wee capable of, once they set their minds to it? If he wasn't careful, he could have a full-fledged war on his hands: gods realizing what they are capable of, them plotting to gain power, fighting amongst themselves for a higher spot in power, and eventually causing mass destruction because of their thirst for supremacy. Not only would they destroy most of the world and risk the rise of the Titans again, but everyone would blame Zeus; he's supposed to be the most powerful god, the one who has the power to prevent this sort of thing. Just by watching his face, I could see this all play out.

"Aphrodite," Zeus said, calmly and carefully, the emotionless mask back on his face, "why did you do this?"

Aphrodite laughed, a light, calm, casual sound. "Don't worry, the gods were never in danger. I just made Athena think that. Once Athena says something, everyone believes her."

Annabeth was even more impressed now. "Wait, you managed to fool _Athena_?"

Aphrodite nodded happily, and Athena looked murderous; however, she said nothing.

Zeus looked from me to Annabeth and said, "Well, I suppose now you want her to be made a goddess, am I correct?"

I knelt at his feet, bowed, and said, "Yes, sir."

"Well, in return for your help in discovering the traitor, she will be made into one. We would normally have fed you a special kind of ambrosia to turn you into a god, but _someone_ had apparently manipulated our minds, causing us to forget that alternative." He shot Aphrodite a glare, who merely smiled. He continued. "Well, better late than never. Annabeth," he called.

She came over, knelt beside me, and bowed, too.

"Rise, heroes," he told us.

As we got to our feet, he handed us a square of golden ambrosia. I mean, it was literally gold. It was a shimmering light yellow, making the throne room look like it had been dunked in pure sunlight.

"You two," Zeus pointed to Grover and Tyson. "I believe Argus is right outside the Empire State Building. He will take you back to camp."

"Bye, Percy and Annabeth," they said sadly.

As they turned to leave, Zeus called, "Wait." They looked up at him, and he pointed to Grover. "We are in desperate need of a new Lord of the Wild." He then pointed to Tyson. "And you would make the perfect God of the Cyclopes. That tree nymph, Juniper, would be a fantastic Goddess of trees. Are you three up for the challenge?"

They nodded, walked over to Zeus's throne, and he handed them each their own square of ambrosia. He snapped his fingers, and Juniper appeared. As soon as Zeus explained his offer, she nodded eagerly, and got her own square of ambrosia.

I was shocked. It didn't seem like Zeus to be this generous. Juniper didn't even go on the quest! Don't get me wrong, though, I did _not_ question it.

We all bit into our ambrosia squares, and I immediately felt powerful. Extremely powerful.

After a few seconds, Zeus spoke. "May I present to you: Juniper, Goddess of Trees, Protector of Foliage; Grover Underwood, Lord of the Wild, Defender of all Nature; Tyson, God of the Cyclopes, Leader of all One-Eyed Beings; Annabeth Chase, Goddess of Architecture, Overseer of all Buildings; and Perseus Jackson, God of Stupidity—I mean, God of the Waves, Guardian of the Tides."

I felt great—better than I had ever felt for a long time. I felt so _powerful_, like I could do anything I wanted.

"Your families have all been informed of your transformation. They are all very proud of you," Zeus said.

I looked at my friends, and we all exchanged excited smiles. We're gods!

Epilogue—Thirty Years Later

"Seaweed Brain, how can you do this to me?"

"Annabeth, I swear, it wasn't my fault! Aphrodite made me! Please don't go all Hera on me!"

"That's the lousiest excuse I've ever heard."

"But Annabeth, I love you!"

"Yeah, right."

"Would I have married you if I didn't love you? Would I have had a child with you if I didn't love you? Would I have taken care of you when you were pregnant if I didn't love you?"

"I was doing perfectly fine on my own. I didn't need your stinkin' help!"

"Please! You practically barfed on everything! You even barfed on the incredibly amazing new Olympus that you designed."

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"I swear, it wasn't my fault. I only love you!"

She sighed. "Fine. I love you, too."

It had been thirty years since we'd all been turned into gods, and Annabeth and I wouldn't stop fighting. Most of it was Aphrodite's fault, trying to "make our relationship more interesting." It was more interesting, all right. In a bad way.

Every now and then, I would suddenly wake up and find that I had a demigod child. I would have no memory of ever meeting the mother, but it was always my responsibility to get the kids to camp and claim them. Then Annabeth would get mad, and we'd fight all over again.

Stupid Aphrodite. She never did this to Grover and Juniper. No, they were happily married with one child—Ferdinand, God of Bushes. It seemed kind of stupid to me, but the happy couple was absolutely delighted with having a Bush God named after Grover's uncle. Sometimes, I'm not very sure about their sanity.

Of course, Aphrodite just _had_ to name the one child I _did_ have with Annabeth. I sighed. Annacey. What a dumb name. Although, I have to admit—it has a certain ring to it. Annacey, Goddess of Pink and Sparkles—another "wonderful" gift from Aphrodite. Yuck. But it's starting to grow on me.

Oh, well, at least Annacey wasn't a carbon copy of Aphrodite. She was quiet and serious, and she was very modest, too. Unlike a certain love goddess. Grrrrr.

Tyson was doing fine—leading the Cyclopes was a dream come true for him. He was in heaven.

At least Annabeth and I didn't fight too often. And we always made up at the end. All in all, I'm glad to be a god. And I'm glad that my friends are immortal, too. Despite all the bumps in the road, life is good.

**A/N: Awwww, it's over! :'-( I would like to thank my family for being so supportive. I would also like to thank my Language Arts teachers—without them, my writing would be a jumbled mess without any point to it. And lastly, I would like to thank you—all of my readers. I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, everyone who reviewed my story (names written in **_**italics**_** are people who reviewed more than once):**

**Rihanna, **_**demigod kid**_**, **_**Fanfic Wolf**_**, ****Assassins Stole My Pants****, **_**PinkPrincess4Life**_**, **_**Dakota-Son of Poseidon**_**, **_**courixoxo**_**, **_**shadowpenguin2010**_**, (this person didn't put their name), **_**EmiJStar**_**, **_**momo347**_**, **_**Fanfic Wolf**_**, **_**smileylol**_**, **_**ShadowPenguin2010**_**, **_**Kevin ly**_**, ****Max8080****, **_**Norma Badino**_**, EClare4Ever393, BeastyBoy1Cousin, Paige, Ingrid Roddick, norma badino, Someone who loves you, ****Who's the mon****, ****Glacion God of Ice****, Ceaze, and ****StarofCalamity****.**

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**Thanks, everyone! I love you all! Wow, I just realized how cheesy I sound. Oh, well! :D  
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**P.S. Please tell me if I made any mistakes in the reviewers or anybody else that I meant to thank. I promise that it wasn't my fault. Also, if there are any questions you have about the story, just ask me. I promise to try my best to answer your questions.**


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